


Winter Storm

by TheMaryWay



Category: A Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)
Genre: Family Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-09-21 15:18:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17046095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMaryWay/pseuds/TheMaryWay
Summary: It's December again. Snow's favorite time. The miser brothers began the month with their normal dispute about the current temperature. It's a vigorous fight... or it was. Until there was no fighting whatsoever. Heat Miser is missing and it's up to Snow Miser to find his stepbrother.





	1. Where's The Sun?

December again. The time where the cold would slowly start to devour most of the United States. It was Snow's favorite time. People yearning for a white Christmas and Mister White Christmas himself was more than happy to provide that. At least, he tried to. His stepbrother would use all his power to stop that every year. His stepbrother prided himself to be known as Mister Green Christmas. As you may have figured out by now they were complete opposites. Essentially, both were in control of the weather; however, Snow commanded the cold while his stepbrother manipulated the heat. Both fighting to get their preferred temperature.

That's how this month started. With their normal dispute, which ended with a fight, about the current weather. Snow was gaining more and more states as they got closer to Christmas time. He wouldn't be surprised if he managed to grab Tennessee this year. It's a vigorous fight... or it was. Until there was no fighting whatsoever.

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"This is channel eight news reporting heavy snow showers throughout the day. We're looking at getting about 15 inches of snow. Schools have been canceled today. We caution people driving home from work to drive slowly. It appears there have already been a few wrecks down I-40. We'll keep you updated as the day progresses. Back to you Tom."

The press of a button and the channel switches,

"There's been reports of heavy snowfall which have completely covered roads. We recommend that individuals stay home to-"

Once again the channel is quickly changed,

"It is a new record in our area. We have gotten 35 inches of snow and it looks like it won't be stopping anyt-"

"Ice has begun to form on several main streets. We have reports that they are attempting to salt the roads as quickly as possible. This snowstorm was a surprise for the south. This is actually the first time it has snow since th-"

"- Recommend that you stay indoo-"

"- Record-breaking sno-"

"I've never seen a storm like this one-"

The TV was shut off. Snow Miser was actually stunned. He was thrilled with the weather that was taking over most of the continent but... but, he would hate to admit it, he was a little concerned with his brother. He would NEVER go down without a fight. So, why wasn't he stopping the snowfall in the southern territories? Snow sat on his ice thrown in a daze. Glancing to his left, one of his devoted minions awaited Snow's commands,

"Minion increase the snowfall and start to push it more towards the south. I'm interested to see how much we can cover this year. In the meantime, I'm going to pay my brother a visit. Let me know if any trouble pops up," Snow commanded as he got up from his throne.

"Yes, sir! We won't let you down," The minion said as he gave a quick salute.

The salute was missed by Snow. He wasn't paying attention to his minion as he walked passed him. He was trying to think of reasons why his little brother would be acting so peculiar. There was that one time when Heat actually got sick from Snow propelling an icicle at him. It was funny at first until he saw how ill his brother got. Snow refused to leave his side until Heat could manage to get himself out of his own bed. So, maybe he got sick again? What could have gotten him sick though? He summoned a winter wind, that gently picked him up, and blew him towards his brother's palace. Hopefully, it was just a joke and nothing more. He was undeniably worried.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Snow caught site of the volcano that his brother lived in. He landed right outside his brother's door. The entrance, into the volcano, was resting on a craggy ground that had lava pits scattered about. Snow shook his head. Stupid heat. He turned his attention back to the elegant door. Close to the rim of the door was complicated symbols. They were carved in gold, reflecting the lava's light. Surrounding the edge of the door was the same gleaming gold. Snow had to admit his brother had an aptness for the dramatic. Instead of barging in, like expected, he knocked on the door. No answer. He tried again. No luck. He grabs the door's handle and takes a breath before turning the knob. He opens the door and is bewildered at the picture before him. Heat's minions were running around like a teenager who lost their phone. Lights were flashing on several consoles. The minions were desperately trying to fix the dilemma but it looked like they weren't making any progress. What was even more strange was the fact that Heat was nowhere to be seen. Not even on his throne where he would be shouting out orders. None of Heat's minions noticed Snow as he walked into the room. The heat was extremely uncomfortable for Snow. He didn't want to linger too long. Sometimes the heat could cause some negative side effects on his well being.

Looking around he grabs the minion closes to him. You could hear the sizzle of the cold meeting the heat on the poor minion's body. The little guy cried out in pain as he quickly grabbed his arm back from Snow. His face changed from frustration to surprise. He jumped back a couple of feet. Wanting to put as much distance from himself and Snow as possible. Before the minion could run away Snow began to speak,

"Hey hey! Wait one second. Where's the hot-head? I've noticed a lack of effort on his part recently. Not that I'm complaining or anything. I'm just curious is all," Snow said with a flash of a smile.

The minion looked around himself as he saw his fellow workers rushing around. He looked back at Snow with a sad expression,

He stuttered out, "We... we don't know..." while he avoided Snow's eyes. The little minion began to stare at the floor while he squirmed under Snow's intense gaze.

"Uh... haha. Okay very funny. No seriously. Where is the little fireball? Don't tell me he's sick again. Is that it? He's just flustered about being under the weather again. That would be twice in one year. Which is very rare for us you know," Snow replied while folding his arms and standing as tall as he can. That had to be it. Ha! His little brother was so fragile.

"Ummm... no s-sir. We really have no idea where he is," The minion told Snow with a confused expression on his face.

Snow just stared. Didn't know where he's at? How could you not know where Mister Sun himself was? Snow looked around again, seeing the damage. Of course, Heat would never let anything like this happen. This looked like a complete disaster.

"Okay, I'm go-" when Snow looked back, after observing the damage, the little minion was already gone. Probably went to try and help control the mess. Snow sighed. Well, he knew of someone he could ask but he really preferred not to. His body shivered with the thought. He didn't know where else to go though. Heat could be anywhere at this point.

Snow took one last glimpse of the surrounding fiasco and left the sound of alarms behind. Once again summoning a cold wind to carry him to his next destination. Visiting his mom. Mother Nature herself.


	2. Hello Mother Dear

Snow landed gently on a patch of grass, which quickly froze over with frost. He made his way closer to his mother's little house. Making sure to walk only on the old rock pathway. Mother wouldn't want her place to be covered with ice. It's been a while since he visited mother. She'll definitely be agitated with Snow for the lack of visits. Snow was preparing himself. Ah, home sweet home. The house was planted on fresh green grass. It had flowers of all colors everywhere, tall trees, little animals scampering about. The little critters ran away from Snow as they felt his frigid being. The house was small but it had greenhouses behind it. Mother always wanted to be close to her earth. Snow was nervous. Sure, Heat always claimed that Mother liked Snow the best, but Snow was not convinced. He considered Heat to be her favorite. Heat will always be her little baby boy, while Snow was in charge of looking after said brother. That was part of the reason the why he was nervous. He was in charge of watching his little brother. He should have known something was amiss sooner than he did.

Before Snow knew it he was standing outside his Mother's door. He hesitated. A few minutes pass then he lightly knocked on the door. He was mentally preparing himself for his mother's possible rage. The door opened and he quickly threw a smile on his face,

"Hello, Mother dear!" Snow said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

"Oh Snow! What a pleasant surprise! Oh, come in. Feel free to adjust the temperature if you would like," Mother said as she went to make some tea. Snow slowly entered the house. He felt a wave of nostalgia. There was a scorch mark still on the wall from one of their fights back in the day. They got in a lot of trouble from that fight. After that, they decided to never use their powers indoors again. Actually, it seemed that the living room hasn't changed much. She still had those cozy blue couches that he loved when he was little. One of the few changes was A TV that hung above the fireplace. She always wanted one and it seems that Mr. Claus brought one to her. Mother Nature wanted to try and bond with the mortals by learning 'human things' from the TV. His Mother may be a force to reckon with, but she was truly compassionate to all creatures. She really liked the humans. Of course, there were a few she wasn't too fond of (some tore her forests down and destroyed her mountains).

Mother called out from the kitchen, "So, how's my icicle doing?" She always made tea for her guests (ice tea for Snow of course).

She didn't give Snow enough time to speak before she returned from the kitchen, and handed Snow a cup of tea while she sat on the opposite couch. She placed her tea on the small coffee table next to her, "I've seen you've been very busy this December. Snowstorms covering most of the south. Did your brother decide to give them a white Christmas this year? Getting along with you. Such a good boy," she smiled. Snow began to fidget.

"Oh no. What's wrong Snowflake?" Mother asked concerned.

"It may be nothing," Snow said with a forced smile.

"I know my boys and I can see you're worried about something," Mother said while she looked into Snow's eyes. At this point, Snow knew he shouldn't be intimidated by her. It's his mom and she was worried about him. Wait till she hears about his step brother though. He looked at his mom and asked,

"Have you seen the Fireball anywhere... he didn't agree to all this snow. Heck, he wasn't even home trying to stop me. It was a disaster at his place. I don't know where he's at and... and I'm worried," Snow said the last part in almost a whisper, he covered his face with his hands, but Mother heard him.

"Oh my little Snowflake, I'm sure he's alright. Let me try and find him with my orb. Come with me," Mother Nature stood up and grabbed Snow's hand. He placed his tea on the coffee table. Snow didn't resist his mother's pull. He started to feel calmer. 'Of course, Mom is right. He's fine.' Snow kept thinking to himself.

They went through a couple of hallways until they entered a circular green room. It was covered with vines and flowers. In the center was a little pond. There was a modest bridge that leads to a mound in the heart of the pond. On top of that mound was a pillar holding an orb. Vines rapping themselves all around the pillar, but none had touched the orb itself.

They crossed the small bridge together, Snow noticed that there was colorful fish that glided through the tranquil water. In fact, there was plenty of animals that took shelter here. Birds flew and built nests, squirrels climbed the vines, butterflies, fireflies, and foxes. It was beautiful. In Snow's opinion, it would look even better with some snow. He and his brother were never allowed in this room when they were little. And he knew that was a good decision on his mother's part.

They stood around the orb. Mother lifted her hands and placed them on the orb. The orb began to swim with colors. It started to glow which caused some animals to hide. It added various colored lights that would sweep around the walls and floor.

"Show me my little Sunshine," Nature commanded. The orb reacted to her voice. Colors shifted around. For some reason, it was extremely blurry. They both could only make out a blue-ish room. In the center was Heat. He looked like he was unconscious. His usual fiery hair that displayed warm light was now dull. It was barely glowing.

"He looks cold... HE LOOKS COLD!" Snow yelled. No no no no he can't stand extremely cold weather. It slowly sucks his fiery life from him. Snow began to panic.

"Oh no no no, whatarewegoingtodo?" Snow was talking so fast that Mother Nature had a hard time keeping up with him. She quickly pulled him in a tight hug. She could feel wet tears on her shoulder. She doubted that Snow was even aware that he was crying. She slowly rocked him back in fourth.

"It's okay, Snowflake. We'll find Sunshine," she said. Snow could hear the distress in her voice. She's worried for Heat too. She can't lose either of them. She can't lose her rays of Sunshine.

Heat's the warmth that you find in the world. Most people don't think of that when considering the Heat Miser. He was a hot-head and could easily be agitated. It's the reason why Heat doesn't really have tons of friends... 'They' call him Heat Miser. Unlike Snow whose friends called him Snow Miser. But Heat possessed a kind heart hidden under that false exterior. He didn't like to show it a lot. He's always worried what the other elements would think of it. But Snow had seen it. Heat not only showed kindness towards some of the elements, but Snow had actually seen him help some humans. Very few elements even cared about the existence of the humans but, surprisingly, not Heat. He was a bit awkward around people but he was fast to warm up to them.

Heat's the sun that shines down, he's the sunrise, and most importantly he's Snow's brother. Sure they fought all the time. It did help to keep some balance in the world, but there were a few times where they would act civil to each other. It doesn't happen as much now, but they were sure a lot closer when they were younger. Back when they were learning about their powers and place on this planet.

Snow began to recall some very old memories. Memories that he hasn't thought of in millenniums. Snow was older. Obviously, he was born first. Not long after his birth he brought about the ice age for almost 3 million years. It was a very harsh environment. Snow would spend his time spreading ice and snow around the earth. Then one day Mother Nature asked for Snow to visit. He knew that his mom was creating another element, but he didn't know when he would meet his little brother (nor did he know how either of them was made. He should ask mother at some point). When he got there he could see Mother Nature holding a very bright thing. It looked like a flame but upon closer inspection, he could see a tiny being. He was so bright. He still is. Snow remembered the first time Heat ever saw the snow,

"It pretty, brofer," Heat had said with a look of awe in his eyes. Snow glowed with happiness. His brother loved his work! He was so excited!

"Can I pway in it?" Heat asked while looking up at his brother. Snow was only supposed to watch him until Mother Nature returned. She spent a lot of time working around the globe. She never took long. Snow didn't see a reason why not though. He and his brother could have some fun in the snow. He could show him how to ski, or how to make snow forts, or how to ice skate! Oh, it was going to be a blast!

"Sure! Why not? You'll love the snow and ice! We can build a for-" while Snow was talking little Heat jumped right into a pile of snow. The loud sound of steam, rising from the opposing elements connecting, brought Snow's attention towards his brother. His eye grew large. HE'S FIRE. The water from the snow CAN'T be good for him! Snow was too fired up (Haha fire. Focus Snow!) with the thought of them having fun together that he didn't even consider their contrasting body temperatures.

"HEAT!" Snow yelled as he dived into the pile and grabbed his brother's small body. His brother felt cold and his body didn't really react to Snow's own icy one. Heat's eye fluttered as he tried to keep them open. Oh no. What was he supposed to do?! Okay okay. Heat was a fire element. So he needed heat. The fireplace at home!

"Hang on Heat," Snow whispered while he cradled his brother's shivering frame. Poor Heat. His skin was turning blue just like Snow's. The flames of his hair were now only a dull heartbeat. Snow called a cold wind to carry them up towards their home. Once he landed on the grass he ran as fast as he could into the house. Thankfully the fire was still going within the fireplace. Snow went ahead and laid Heat down into the flames. The flames immediately started to turn Heat's skin to his normal gold. The shivering toddler was now starting to relax.

Right at that moment, Mother Nature entered the house. She looked at Snow and saw his unease before she turned her attention to the fireplace. There was her Sunshine. Not as bright as his usual self. Mother Nature knew her children. It didn't take long for her to put together the pieces of the scene in front of her. She walked over and sat next to Snow. She leaned over and picked Heat up. Using her powers she started to continue adding warmth to him. She heard a sniffle and looked over. Snow was the one shaking now. He tried to rub the icy tears from his face.

Nature spoke with a soothing tone, "Snowflake. It's okay. He's going to be alright," Snow looked up at her now. She gave him a gentle smile, "It's probably a good time to talk more about you two. You," with one hand she rubbed Snow's, "And your brother," they both looked at Heat, who was sleeping in his mother's arms, "You both love each other. I know neither of you would want the other to get hurt, right?" Snow nodded his head and exclaimed, "Definitely!" Nature once again smiled. "Well, I bet you've already noticed it sometimes feels... uncomfortable to touch each other, right? You both are okay right now, but when you get older, and more in control of your powers, you both really need to be careful around each other. You both have very different body temperatures. So it's a bit harder to be in each other's temperatures," Mother explained, "When you grow some more it would probably be best if both of you avoid using your powers around the other," She advised, "When you get older just remember it'll be a bit more difficult to interact with your brother. Not quite yet, but soon both of you will need to control your body temperatures to the middlemost degrees to interact. Don't worry too much about that now," She saw Snow looked a little scared.

"Don't worry. You'll pick it up in no time," Mother said with confidence.

Snow nodded his head while whipping away the tears.

"I'll make sure that he'll be safe mom," Snow said with determination in his voice.

Mother beamed, "I know you will," Nature pulled Snow close, with Heat still in her arms, she gave him a hug. Hugs happened more often when they were younger. As they got older the rarer these hugs became.

When Heat got older he thawed the ice age and huge trees and plants grew. That's when Heat began using his powers. Slowly they began to fight. The weather began to shift between the two until it got split. South was Heats and north was Snow's. Both still fought to push their temperature to the other's territory.

Snow shakes his head to focus his mind again. He didn't realize that he was still hugging his mother. He reluctantly let go of her,

"How are we going to find him?" Snow frowned and started to sulk. He never acts like this, but he has never been this afraid of possibly losing his brother before. Looking at his Mother he could see she was also lost, which terrified him even more.

"First off we should try and ask around. I think Mrs. Claus may be a good start. You go on ahead and find out what's going on. I'll keep using my powers to try and find him."


	3. Visiting Old Friends

He landed a few feet from the Clause's residence. In front of the castle, there was some reindeer prancing about. Snow took one step and crunched some snow beneath his foot. The reindeers heads whipped over to see Snow advancing. They knew what he was capable of. So, wisely, the reindeer quickly flew away. Snow chuckled to himself. They crossed his path one too many times he guessed. They got lucky every time. He paused for a bit, enjoying the cold, before progressing to the castle. He knew he was going to cause some panic among the residents. Of course, the Clauses wouldn't be intimidated by him. It was the elves and gnomes who would be running in fear.

Walking through the snow and approaching the castle he got a good look at it. It's been years since he last saw it. It never seemed to age. It still looked as new as the day it was built.

Strolling up to the wooden door, decorated with the clause's signature red, he knocked a couple of times before waiting. He noticed that the spot he knocked on started to form frost on it.

The door was opened by a small chubby elf with a hat that jingled. He took one look at him before letting out a yelp and slamming the door shut. Rude. Snow thought. He tried again,

"One mo- mo- moment, please," the elf nervously spoke as Snow heard his footsteps scurry away.

"Wow. Don't bother to invite me in, icicle," Snow grumbled under his breath. Of course, he preferred to be left in the cold rather than inside. Still, where was his etiquette? He opened his entire castle for them whenever they visited. Whatever. It doesn't matter. Heat matters. He was jostled out of his thoughts when the doors swung open,

"Oh, Snowy! Come in! Come in!" Mrs. Claus urged as she grabbed his hand to guide him in. He noticed she was wearing enchanted gloves that protected her hands from his powers. It was a little sweet of her to want to actually interact with him.

"The snow has been lovely up here today. I've been a tiny bit concerned with the rest of the world, dear. I hope you haven't seriously hurt your brother," she said with concern in her voice. Snow new that she saw first hand how... um... intense their fighting could get. Heat tried to kill her husband before... on multiple occasions. Yet she never seemed to hold a grudge against him for it.

"Oh, I just tease. I would never actually cause any real harm to him," Snow tried to reply nonchalantly. Although, he was slightly offended by her implications.

She gently tugged him to a dining room. Setting him down at a chair before she ran to the fireplace to put the fire out. She opened a few windows for him too.

"Thanks, buttercup. I appreciate the welcome," Snow said with a flash of a smile.

"No problem, dear. Now, what can I help you with? I'm assuming it has something to do with your brother, Heat Miser?"

Snow fidgeted in his chair a bit. 

"Have you... seen him anywhere recently?" Snow asked slowly. He was praying that she would have seen him and his anxieties could be put to rest.

"Sorry. I have not. Although, I bet Santa caught a glimpse of him somewhere. He's been taking the reindeer out and about around the world. Making sure they're ready for Christmas and pulling his heavy sleigh," Mrs. Claus replied. You could hear a hint of concern in her voice. She did care about the miser brothers. She also knew how dangerous they could be as well.

"He should be back soon. He's been gone for a wh-" Mrs. Claus was interrupted by a soft knock on the door.

"Excuse me for one second," Mrs. Claus informed.

"Take your time, sugar cake," snow replied.

She walked over to the door and opened it. There was a more slender elf standing at the door. Snow noticed that his hat bell seemed to jangle.

"Mrs. Claus, Santa has returned," Jangle said with a goofy smile. His smile didn't last long when he noticed Snow Miser in the room. Jangle started to shake a bit. He stopped when Mrs. Claus put a hand on his shoulder,

"Thank you, Jangle. I'll go see him right now," Mrs. Claus said with a gentle voice. Jangle, noticeably calmer now, replied,

"No problem, Mrs. C," Jangle saluted before walking away.

Snow stood up. He was eager to speak with Santa. He always did like him. He brought winter cheer along with Christmas. He approached Mrs. Claus,

"Lead the way, blue Jay"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He felt cold. He wasn't used to this extreme temperature. It was so hard to think clearly in these conditions. He could think of one thing he undoubtedly knew. He despised the cold. Normally his anger would have heated him up by now, but he was still cold. It was dark too. Dark and cold. Wait. Heat just noticed that his eyes were closed. Slowly he brought himself to open his eyes. It took so much energy from him. It looked like he was in a freezer. No. A reinforced room that was kept in sub-zero temperatures. Someone was trying to keep him here and sedated. Well, Mr. Sun wasn't going to stay here. 

He put all his might into standing up. He let out a low growl while he leaned against the wall. Glancing around the room he spotted the reinforced door. He felt deep within him for the fire he knew he had. It was a lot harder to find than normal but he felt it. He slowly brought it to his fingertips. His legs became weak while he focused his power. He slowly slid to the ground again, but he refused to let the building fireball in his hand to be snuffed out. Gritting his teeth he finally managed to form a large fireball that he immediately chucked at the door. The door blew open. Leaving a huge burnt mark on the wall where the door was.

The room began to warm a bit after that. Heat began to grin. Pulling himself up he moved towards freedom. 

Alarms started to blare. A voice spoke up over an intercom,

"Code blue. Weapon 4's cell failure. Backup required,"

Weapon? Did they want to use Mr. Green Christmas as a weapon? The power of the sun in some dangerous human's hands.... oh. That's not good. Heat thought.

"How did they even get me here?" Heat thought out loud. He reached the door with his power growing stronger by the minute. He can worry about the details later. He was leaving. 

He stepped through the door and notices that he was now in a long white hallway with multiple reinforced doors scattered about. One of them had a window. Curiously Heat looked inside. One of his minions was shaking inside.

"Oh hell no!" Heat snarled. No one will ever hurt his children! He smashed the door open. The tiny minion flinched before pushing himself into a corner. The poor thing was terrified.

"Hey. Shhhhh, it's okay. It's Heat Miser. You're going to be okay now," heat said soothingly.

He gently picked up his minion and coddled him. Looking at him he knew his name was Flame. Heat knew every minion's name. He cared about every single one of them. Although, he tried to hide it. He doubted he was fooling his minions.

"Is there anyone else here," heat asked.

Flame shook his head no as he snuggled up against Heat's warm. Heat decided to do a quick check of the other rooms just in case. He used his power to glide through the hall. Checking each door he passed. Some contained different ray guns, others held strange humans, and a few of them held deformed creatures that Heat had never seen before, but Flame was right. No other minions were about. Heat felt bad that Flame was in this situation. He has to ask him about this later. Got to get out of here.

Heat started to blast holes into wall after wall until he caught a glimpse of natural light. Relief filled him but it was short lived. He was hit by something freezing that significantly hurt him. The hole was big enough for Flame to fit through. He sat and squeezed him through,

"Find help," was all he managed to say after being hit again and again and again before Heat collapsed. Darkness taking him once more.


	4. A Icy Hug

(Author's Note: I apologize for this short chapter. I wanted to post something for Christmas but I also wanted to spend today with my family. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.)

 

Snow could hear the bells from Santa's sleigh as it landed. He had a strong urge to run to the front door and demand to know Heat's location. Of course, he knew he needed to get his emotions in check before he did some real damage. He was already frosting the walls and floor as he passed. Mrs. Claus could easily see his distress. She started to walk faster to help ease Snow's agitation. They passed several elves who immediately dashed away. They would definitely prefer to not be a frosted mess after Snow moved by.

 

Finally, they arrived at the red doors. Before they could even reach for the handle the doors flew open. Santa Claus himself was standing in the doorway. Several elves were crowded behind him. They must have warned him of Snow's presence.

"Snow Miser! What can I help you with?" Santa asked. He seemed tired from his journey but he refused to be intimidated by Snow. 

"Snowy wanted to know if you've seen his brother recently," Mrs. Claus said. She didn't trust Snow to speak at the moment. After he calmed down a bit then he could address Santa.

"Heat Miser?" Santa said as he scratched his whiskers, "You know I did see him recently. About a week ago," Santa mused.

Before anyone could actually do anything Snow Miser grabbed Santa's coat and lifted him off the ground. Miraculously, he managed to only frost the coat. He was surprised himself that he was able to manage what little restraint he had at the second.

"WHERE? WHERE DID YOU SEE HIM?" Snow practically yelled. He felt a gentle hand placed on his shoulder. Glancing to it he noticed it was Mrs. Claus. She didn't look scared. Just... just sad. Seeing her like that snapped Snow back to reality. He gently placed Santa back on the ground. Santa let out a tired sigh. He wasn't frightened either. Just exhausted. He dealt with the Miser brothers enough to know how emotionally charged they could be.

"I saw him in Tennessee. It appeared like he was checking on his territory. At least, that's what I thought. Why? Is there something wrong?" Santa asked with a confused look on his face.

"He's... he's missing," Snow said with a lump in his throat.

Santa gave one look at Mrs. Claus and she gave him the protective gloves. He reached over and slid them on. He walked up to Snow and did not hesitate to give Snow a hug. At least as much of a hug he could give without freezing to death.

Snow smiled at the gesture,  
"Thanks," Snow rubbed his eyes. Determined to not cry. 

"I should check on my palace before heading over to find him. I bet my minions are a tad worried," Snow said with a guilty smile. He really should have checked on them sooner. They're probably a disaster currently.

"Well, we shouldn't keep you then. Listen, if you ever need to you can stop by and visit. Our home is opened to everyone," Santa said with a twinkle in his eye. He really was a sweetheart.

"The same for you and my castle," Snow said as he started to call a cold air to lift him away. The Clauses waved Snow goodbye as he flew towards his home.

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Snow settled outside his home. Well, the castle wasn't on fire. That's a good sign. Laughing to himself he walked up to the icy doors before shoving them open. He saw his minions were obviously distressed, but they were doing a great job at holding it together. Snow waltz in with a huge grin. Ah, the cold. He couldn't get enough of it. He stopped in his tracks when he saw a fire in the corner of the room. He was about to have a raging fit until he noticed a shivering little heat minion.

One of Snow's minions ran up to him and quickly saluted.

"We think we've solved the Heat Miser trouble, sir," his minion stated. Snow barely acknowledged him as he rushed over to his brother's minion. The minion recoiled from Snow. Seeing this, Snow decided it was best to keep some distance between the two of them. He knew that seeing your leader's archrival could be very alarming. Raising his arms in a non-threatening gesture Snow gentle said,

"I'm not here to hurt you. To be honest, you already look like a mess," Snow tried to lighten the mood. He failed miserably. The little minion looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"Hey, chill. It's okay. Where's Heat at?" Snow asked.

The tiny minion wiped his eyes as he shakily spoke up,

"Y-12. The government facility. They tricked him into thinking you were around there. Trying to take over his territory again," 

"Why? What do they want from him?" Snow questioned.

"His power. The sun's power. They could use him as a weapon if they could harness his energy... I don't know if they've figured it out yet," the minion said.

"They started tests on me before they tried anything with Heat. They may have started the serious tests now," the minion started to panic.

"Get Heat's minion home," Snow commanded one of his own minions.

"I'm bringing my brother home," he said with a cold look in his eyes.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

Heat was trapped within a spherical cage which was connected to a large ray gun. The gun was attempting to suck Heat's power from him. Heat was trying to fight it with all his strength but he knew he was slowly losing. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out. He hoped Flame made it home safely. Another sharp pain overtook his body. He growled as he tried to melt his prison again. He wasn't going down without a fight.


	5. Snow Storm

Tennessee was covered in snow. Not entirely unusual for certain parts of the state, but still a surprise to most. The only spot that had green grass was the Oak Ridge area. Y-12's location.

Heat barely managed to melt the ray gun. That was the third one and he was still freezing. He couldn't help but smirk at the humans wearing protective gear. They kept testing different devices on him and each time he foiled them. He started to melt the walls of his prison once again. He could see one of the humans face-palm. They were having trouble keeping him contained. Good. He wasn't going to make anything easy for them. Especially after what they did to poor Flame. The thought of them experimenting on him added more fuel to Heat's rage.

"We need to reinforce the walls... again. Turn down the temperature. Get the experimental ice mixture ready," the head scientist demanded.

"A... are you sure? We don't know how low of a temperature he can actually survive in..." one of the scientists pointed out.

"Well, we can't let him go. We went through the trouble catching him and we will keep him. HE'S MINE!" the head scientist shrieked.

Some humans, in armor, entered Heat's room with guns. Heat immediately pulled flames into his hands. Ready for a fight. 

A button was pushed on a keyboard in the scientist's room. Causing a huge pile of snow to fall onto Heat. Immediately putting out his flames and successfully subduing him. One of the armored men ran to Heat and pulled out a syringe filled with a special cold substance. He shoved it into Heat's arm. Heat flinch and felt the cold flow through him. He instantly went limb. His body didn't know how to handle the sudden internal temperature change. So, he fell, unconscious, to the ground.

The head scientist slowly walked into the room. He marched up to Heat and checked to see if he was still breathing. He was. Lucky him, thought the scientist.

"Test RG3 has failed. Get RG4 prepared," the head scientist ordered. The armor men started to move Heat to another room so the current one could get repaired.

"You will bend to my will," the head scientist growled at the unconscious elemental.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

Heat's unconscious mind slowly started to wake and kept replaying a dark memory.

Heat was inside his old home on Mother Nature's floating island. It was spring on the island. Flowers of every color bloomed. They had a small pond that had tadpoles in it. Heat was young again. A grade schooler's age to a human. The brothers were still close. Their fallout would happen the following day. Until then, they would never leave each other's side. They knew how to interact without causing the other serious harm. There was still some slip ups here and there, but they had a stronger grasp of their powers.

They were waiting for their Mother to return. She was out tending to the earth. So they snuggled together by the window. Watching some birds fly by while they enjoyed each others company. Heat nudged Snow,

"Look! The nest has baby birds in it finally!" Heat pointed out. 

The birds were chirping happily. A few of the baby birds were hopping in their twig nest with excitement. One of the baby birds foot got caught on a twig before it fell over the nest and plunged to the ground. It landed on a soft patch of grass. It laid there for a few seconds before trying to fly and failing. Heat had enough.

Heat got up and went to the door. He yanked opened the green door and slowly approached the baby bird. Gently he scooped it up and placed it back in the nest. Snow was by his side. Both silently watching the nest. Neither of them knew that the baby bird would be the thing to end their relationship...

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

A winter storm began consuming Tennessee like no other. Some people had trouble leaving their own home because of the snow. It was Snow Miser. He was coming to save his brother and he brought his rage with him. He was supposed to take care of his younger brother. He failed him once. Not again.

He landed on one of the buildings' rooftops. Causing it to shatter as it turned to ice. Snow, once in the building, had no idea where to even look for his brother. There was multiple large building scattered about. He stood his full height as he looked around. Just a lot of long white hallways. No human was about. Strange. He cautiously walked down one of the hallways. Leaving a trail of snow behind him. The floor became ice, making it easier for Snow to travel. He slid across the floor as fast as he could. He was trying to feel the air for heat. Not the warm from a heater. No. Pure energy. The source of all heat itself. His brother's heat.

It was hard to feel anything but coldness. He normally loved it but now it only caused despair. He couldn't feel him. What if he was too late? He needed to keep his cool. He'll find him.

Snow hit a dead end. Great. Well, this building wasn't giving him an aura of his brother's location. Time to move to the next.

When Snow turned around he spotted at least twenty armored men standing behind him. Looked like they were all carrying flamethrowers.

"Come with us now. Unless you want to cause your brother harm or worse," one of the men, Snow assumed the leader, ordered. Snow was insulted. Only twenty? Really? They underestimated him. Snow slowly raised his arms. Trying to appear vulnerable to them.

"Now, how about we all calm down and chill," at that very moment chilly air blew pushing the armor men. The air was strong enough to shove them across the ice, which increased their speed, away from Snow.

Snow rushed up to the leader and grabbed the front of his armor. It was burning hot. Snow let out a yelp, as his hand started to sizzle before he swiftly dropped the leader. Snow pulled his injured hand close to his body. Trying to cool it down. He was hoping to question the leader but he needed another method to remove both of them from that hallway. He needed to get away from these lunatics.

Before any of them could recover to their feet, Snow called a cold wind to carry him, and his new prisoner, away.

He only carried him to another building's roof. Setting the human to the ground he summoned ice to surround him. Leaving him stuck in an icy prison. A smirk slowly spread on Snow's face. He's going to finally get some more concrete answers to his brother's whereabouts.

"Hahaha... HAHAHA!" the leader looked insane. Snow's smirk ebbed away. This human was nonchalant about his situation. This startled Snow... he subconsciously got into a battle stance. He wasn't going to botch up this rescue.

"Where is my brother?" Snow growled. His eyes looked colder than the icy vacuum of space. Snow summoned a sharp icicle. It was frowned upon to ever harm a human... but Snow considered this to be an exception.

"I honestly have no idea. I've only seen the beast a couple of times. Both times in completely different building complexes. I can say one thing. You won't see him again. If you came with us quietly then, maybe, you could have seen him one last time," the leader laughed again. Snow's temper was rapidly rising.

"I'll tell you one thing," the leader unexpectedly announced, "He's underground somewhere. Don't think I'm trying to help you though. I'll have every man and woman in the area ready to stop you down there," he sneered.

Snow lost it. He grabbed the leader, ignoring the pain in his hands, glided both of them to the ground. Moving his hold, Snow grabbed the leader throat while pointing at the frosted ground with his free hand,

"TAKE ME TO THE UNDERGROUND COMPLEXES." Snow shouted.

The leader only smirked.

"Of course, Mister Snow. I'll take you down there. You should know. You won't come back out," Snow rolled his eyes at the last statement. He was tired of this human's attitude. Snow took off his scarf and tied it around the human's wrists. Grabbing the tied wrists, he yanked the leader forward.

"Show me the way."

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

Heat Miser stirred a little but he was still forced to witness one of his worst memories...

...The next day, Snow was sick. He spent too much time in the warm temperatures outside. He was having problems controlling his base temperature. So, unfortunately, Heat couldn't really interact with him. Although, when they were waiting for their mother once more, they decided to watch the birds together again. They noticed that the same baby bird fell from its nest. This time Snow went outside to pick it up. They both knew that Snow shouldn't be outside. 

\------------------------  
"HEAT. CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"  
\------------------------

They both knew Snow was sick. Snow reached down and as soon as he touched the bird it froze. It became covered with ice from the inside out. Snow stared at it in shock... he... he killed it. Heat was next to him and he could feel Heat's own body temperatures rising with his anger.

"You killed it... YOU KILLED IT," Heat was more than enraged. 

"I... I didn't mean to..." Snow looked horrified. It didn't stop Heat's anger. He shoved Snow. Hurting Snow with his touch. Snow grew angry himself. He didn't mean to. So, why was Heat being a jerk about it? Snow shoved Heat back. Next thing they knew, within thirty minutes, the entire island was covered with ice and fire. When Mother Nature returned her displeasure caused there to be thunder and lightning storms for an entire week.

Neither brother ever forgave the other...  
\----------------------------------  
Heat slowly awoke. He took note of his new prison. Once again it was covered in ice... Heat was too tired to try and get up. He gave a long sigh before contemplating his situation. He was worried about his little minions. Worried about the temperature changes outside, which must be upsetting the balance of things. Worried about the poor little animals trying to survive in an unfamiliar environment... He really missed his brother right now...


	6. Try To Keep It Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. I've moved so I'm going to be away while I get my life together again. To be honest, I may wait until Christmas time to continue with this story. Not sure yet. Anyways, enjoy this chapter!

To get to the buildings lower levels Snow, and the leader, would need to go through the main lobby. Then they would need to take either the stairs or elevator. Stairs being the better option. Snow could easily glide down them while the elevator may be unable to handle Snow's weight. Not only that but Snow was an emotional bomb at the moment. They couldn't risk him freezing the elevator cables by mistake.

Trying to sneak into the building, swarming with humans, was going to be difficult in itself. Add on top of that trying to slip in a centuries-old elemental was going to be a bigger challenge. Obviously, the leader was not going to help the situation. Honestly, he's probably going to try and sabotage any schemes that Snow came up with. Easiest solution: they needed to avoid humans altogether. 

Snow grabbed the leader and froze his scarf to a building wall, purposely avoiding freezing the human's skin.

"Stay put, sugar cakes," Snow said with a grin.

Looking at the dull brown bricked building Snow started to develop his plan. The building had at least four windows around the lobby area. Not a lot of windows for such a large room. Means they're trying to hide things. Multiple floors above it. So no crashing things through the ceiling. Snow placed a hand on the outer wall and allowed his power to frost it a bit. Yep. Walls were reinforced which could cause some problems. Best bet: use the windows.

Calling upon his powers he shattered all four windows simultaneously. Before the humans could respond Snow started to fill the building with snow. Pushing the humans out. 

Snow grabbed the leader, breaking the ice's hold, before rushing through one of the windows. With Snow's size, he had to break pieces of the surrounding walls with his icy. They didn't give immediately but they did eventually crumble. They managed to enter the building while everyone was darting towards the exit doors. During the chaos Snow dragged the leader behind him, Snow rushed to the stair making sure the actual snow would block the view of him. Reaching the stairwell Snow slammed the door shut. Laying a hand on the door he froze it in place. It would buy them some time if they get followed. Having one obnoxious maniac was enough.

"Good job, Snowflake," the leader said eerily cheerful. 

"I can do cute nicknames too, Mister White Christmas," the leader mocked.

Snow just ignored him. He is not important right now. Heat is. He needed to get to Heat. 

Taking a single glance over the edge of the stair's railing Snow jumped. It was quite a ways down. Snow had to give the leader props for not screaming the entire way. Snow chuckled to himself.

He eventually landed, after several floors, gently at the bottom of the stairway but roughly dropped the leader. 

"Where to next?" Snow casually asked. Trying to appear under control when it was very apparent that he wasn't.

"This is where my mind gets a little fuzzy," the leader innocently smiled.

Immediately, the walls and floor iced over. Snow was super close to doing some serious damage to the leader...

\---Snow had a quick flashback to a tiny frozen baby bird.---

Need to be in control again. Snow took in a deep breath before letting it out. 

"Okay. How about we make a deal. You take me to my brother and I'll give you a ten-second head start to capture me. For those ten-seconds, I won't use my ice powers on you or your other humans. Deal?" Snow was fairly confident that he could handle himself against a few humans. He's a huge ice elemental. How hard could it be?

The leader stuck his hands out, "I'll shake on it after you release me," 

"Very well. Until we reach my brother my powers are fair game," Snow warned as he snapped fingers. The ice melted off the scarf which Snow snatched back to wear again.

"Okay. It's this way," the leader said as he marched down a hallway.

"By the way, why do you wear a scarf if you like the cold so much? Just curious," The leader questioned.

"Heat made it for me. Of course, mother nature helped him. Back when he was little he was worried I would get too cold," Snow replied as he squeezed a piece of the scarf in his hands.

"Hm, I bet the scientists would love to see how cold you could actually get. They've been doing something similar to your brother for a while now," the leader casually said. He was obviously trying to get a reaction from Snow and he got one. Snow could have a good poker face when he wanted to, but his ice powers always gave him away. The entire hallway walls were ice now. Doors were frozen shut. Cameras shattered.

Great. Snow thought. Now the humans would definitely know he was here.

"Just take me to Heat," Snow exhaled.


End file.
